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Caught in the net? Doesn’t that mean her secrets are about to be exposed? No, this can’t happen. If the bandits confess, I’m afraid Jin Lingling will spend the rest of her life in prison.

"Hong Mei, did you show your face when you made the trade?"

Hong Mei shook her head repeatedly, "No, no, I followed Miss’s instructions and covered myself completely with a long Curtain Lattice when meeting the bandits. Moreover, to guard against their keen eyesight, I also wore a veil inside the Curtain Lattice. They won’t recognize me."

Jin Lingling breathed a sigh of relief. That was good. As long as she was unrecognizable, there was nothing to fear. They had no evidence, and the silver Hong Mei gave was wrapped in the most common purse; it should not be traced back to her.

Still, it was best to remain cautious.

"Hong Mei, go to the Yamen and find out what you can, but make sure not to leave any traces. If those bandits have said anything they shouldn’t, then..."

Hong Mei bit her lip and nodded; now that things had come this far, she had to protect herself well. If the bandits were to implicate her, knowing Miss’s temperament, she would certainly be sacrificed.

Hong Mei hurried out. Jin Lingling took out a handkerchief, intending to wipe the grape juice off her hands, but she was so nervous that her hands trembled uncontrollably, and she couldn’t get them clean.

Cursing to herself, she suddenly heard a knock at the door, which scared her so much that the handkerchief fell to the ground.

Jin Lingling bit her lip, and her face turned pale; outside, a young maid said, "Second Miss, the old lady asks for you."

Jin Lingling clenched her fingers tightly together. "What’s going on?"

The maid’s submissive voice rang out again, "It’s like this, the eldest daughter has sent a wheelchair to the old lady, and the old lady is very pleased, asking everyone in the residence to come and see the novelty."

A wheelchair? It’s not about the bandits?

Jin Lingling’s heart settled, but as soon as she heard it was Jin Yuyu who sent it, she grew tense again. Could it be that chair with wheels?

How infuriating, how infuriating. She spent money and sought out bandits just to destroy Jin Yuyu’s wheelchair. Now, not only had she failed to do what she intended, but she was also in danger of implicating herself!

Jin Lingling, fuming, knocked a plate of grapes to the floor and trampled on it with her embroidered shoes, all the while ranting resentfully, "Lin Yuan, Jin Yuyu, you little wenches, little wenches! I, Jin Lingling, will surely get even with you!"

Due to the unexpected event on the main road, Lin Yuan had been forcibly kept at home by Liuzi and Lin Yi for the past two days and was not allowed to go to the town. Since Shopkeeper Zhou looked after the tofu shop and Liuzi kept an eye on Rice Flower Fragrance, she didn’t have to worry.

And that evening, Lin Yuan also received the first Flying Pigeon Letter from Xia Zheng since he left: "Husband has safely arrived in Jiangnan, but day and night, my thoughts are with my wife, eagerly awaiting letters from her to soothe my heart, lonely and empty."

Lin Yuan, enduring the danger of her teeth being overwhelmed by the sourness, finally finished reading the letter, then shivered all over. She could almost imagine the sly smile on Xia Zheng’s lips as he wrote these diminutive words.

However, looking at the handwriting on the letter, it was bold and forceful but somewhat hurried, clearly written by Xia Zheng amidst his busy schedule. The thought of the unknown busyness and the potential danger of an epidemic in Jiangnan tightened Lin Yuan’s heart.

She took out paper that Xiao Linshuang used for practicing calligraphy and carefully cut it into an appropriate size. Lin Yuan picked up her pen, scratched her head, unsure of what to write.

"Your concubine thinks of you day and night and hopes that you will take care of yourself and return soon," Lin Yuan shivered, shook her head, and thought to herself, so cheesy.